


Five gifts from a dragon

by Treesofmyheart



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: (I guess lol), 5+1 Things, Daring Escapes, Dragon AU, False is an actual dragon it's amazing, Fantasy AU, Friendship, Gen, Gift Giving, Princess - Freeform, Shrek AU, Swearing, dragon - Freeform, teen rating because of swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22116070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treesofmyheart/pseuds/Treesofmyheart
Summary: Locked away in a tall tower, guarded by a monstrous dragon, Princess Cleo awaits rescue by a daring knight. But fuck that, am I right?Or, five gifts that False gives to Cleo, and one that Cleo gives to her.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 84





	Five gifts from a dragon

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I realise that this is basically a Shrek AU.  
> Yes, I am owning it.
> 
> Enjoy :)

1.

On the first day of her in imprisonment, the dragon brings her food. 

It roars up from the dark abyss below her tower, massive wings sending gusts of wind that pick up Cleo’s hair and send it flying about her head. She stands before it, holding her ground despite her legs and hands shaking at the sight of this creature. It watches her, glowing purple eyes focused on her face, razor-sharp teeth poking out from its massive jaws.

Anger builds up in Cleo’s chest, and she screams at it, feeling all the rage she’s felt for the past day tumble out.

“Let me go, you monster!” She cries out at it, voice cracking. “Please, just let me go home!”

The dragon lowers its head for a second, and opens its massive jaws.

“Alas, dear princess. I cannot let you go. You must be my captive until a noble knight comes for thee...”

Its voice is booming, but soft, as the stones of her tower rumble at the vibrations. Cleo yells in frustration. 

“That’s bullshit! I don’t need a fucking knight to come to rescue me! What the fuck?!”

“My apologies, dear princess. It has been ordered.”

The dragon reaches out a massive claw to where Cleo stands at the archway of her tower, and she shrieks, leaping back away from it. But instead of attacking her, the black claw simply opens to deposit a massive pile of food before her. There are vegetables, bread and enough exotic fruits to make her mouth water and her stomach rumble. It has been a while since she last ate...

“Sleep well, Princess. Someone will come to rescue you soon.”

Cleo turns to the massive face hovering at her balcony, clutching a loaf of bread and a golden carrot.

“Fuck off, dragon. I’ll rescue myself.”

* * *

2.

On the second day, the dragon brings her a cloak.

Cleo is sitting at the small desk in her tower when a gust of wind swirls through the room, scattering various loaves of bread and the single pillow that rests on the bed. She turns to the balcony, stepping through the archway to stand before the dragon.

“Noblemen approach on the horizon, My lady.”

The dragon's voice is so loud it sets her teeth chattering, but the tone is smooth and kind.

“They can fuck off!” Cleo says, rolling up the sleeves of her tattered dress. “I don’t want to have to marry the first twit who climbs up her and proclaims himself my ‘rescuer’. Again, this whole thing is bullshit!”

“As you wish, Princess.”

The dragon bows it’s massive head; turning away from the balcony.

“Wait!” Cleo yells. “You’re not going to kill them, are you?”

The dragon turns back to her, and Cleo swears she can see a lopsided smirk on its face. 

“Do you want me to?”

“Um. No. Can you just scare them a bit?”

“Certainly, your Majesty.”

The dragon flashes it’s brilliant white teeth, dark scales flashing in the mid-morning sun.

“Thank you. Wh- why are you doing this?”

“You have ordered me to, princess..?”

Cleo steps forward.

“No, I mean... guarding me. Keeping me prisoner.”

The dragon grunts, letting out a small growl.

“The king... your father... ordered it. If I were to let you go, they would send every man in the kingdom to slay me, and bring back my head to him.”

Cleo shudders. The dragon flaps it’s wings, launching away from the tower towards the tall hills on the horizon. Cleo watches it go, and a few hours later, she turns to see a cloak on her balcony, bearing the emblem of a noble knight.

She takes it and wraps it around herself, feeling warmer than she has in days.

* * *

3.

On the third day, the dragon brings her books.

She’s lying face down on the bed, sick with boredom, when she hears the familiar rumble of the dragon’s voice.

“Princess, are you- are you okay?”

“Mmmmph.”

She says into the pillow, not bothering to raise her head.

“How are your escape attempts going, my lady?”

“Uuugggghhhh,” Cleo says, sitting up from the bed and wrapping the cloak around her. “Well, I tried making a rope to climb down, but then I realised there’s a fucking _abyss_ down there and jumping into it is literally just going to kill me.

And then I experimented with making a parachute to get across said abyss and that was just _stupid.”_ She rolls her eyes at the dragon. “So not great.”

“And now what are you doing, Princess? Meditating?”

The dragon looks like it’s _smiling_.

“Fuck off, dragon,” Cleo says, stifling a grin. “I’m bored out of my mind, if you must know.”

The dragon doesn’t reply, but Cleo watches as a massive Claw reaches in through the archway of the balcony and dumps a pile of books carefully on the floor. 

Cleo can barely contain her excitement. She leaps off the bed and rushes towards them, grabbing the first one she sees. It’s a long book on... engineering? Cleo’s never been interested in that sort of stuff before, but at least it’s _something_. The next one is an old, dusty volume about physics.

“There’s some fiction in there, too.”

The dragon says. Cleo turns to it, grinning. 

“Where did you get these?! This is great!”

The dragon looks away slightly, as if it was embarrassed. 

“They-they used to be mine, Princess. But now the words are too small for me to read...”

Cleo stares, mouth slightly agape. 

“They used to be... I didn’t know dragons could read...” it hits her then, as she stares at this strange black dragon. “You used to be human, huh?”

The dragon lowers then raises its head in a massive nod of affirmation. Cleo stands up.

“What happened to you?”

The dragon sighs. 

“It’s a long story... involving a sort of dragon-cult-wizard-thing... long story short, now I’m stuck as a dragon.”

Cleo can see it now. The way it talks, the way it reacts, the gifts it keeps giving. The way it’s movements are smooth but still a little unpracticed.

“What’s your name?”

She asks tentatively. The dragon meets her eyes.

“False.”

“I’m Cleo. Nice to meet you, False.”

She holds out her hand, laughing when she sees False’s massive Claw reach out towards her. She presses their palms together, despite False’s claw being like, 50 times bigger than her hand. 

“Thank you, Princess. It is nice... for someone to use my name. It has been... a while.”

Cleo looks up at the dragon, at False, and smiles sadly.

“Me too.”

“Thank you... Cleo. Good night.”

False’s wings send Cleo’s hair flying all around her head as she leaves. Cleo watches her disappear into the darkness below, then grabs a book and begins to read.

* * *

4.

On the fourth day, the dragon brings her clothes.

Cleo wakes up to find a pile of clothes on the floor of the balcony. She looks down at her dress, which she’s been wearing for, like, a week straight by now, and it’s torn and grubby and yep. False has a point. 

She needs to change.

Reaching into the pile, she pulls out a white and red striped tee shirt. It’s worn, with a couple of holes in, but clean and comfortable. Then she finds a pair of shorts and pulls them on along with the skirt, discarding her dress in a corner. The clothes, miraculously, fit very well. She finds a jacket and some boots and puts them on to complete the outfit, folding the rest of them into a neat pile in the corner.

“Nice outfit.”

The dragon’s voice startles her and Cleo nearly shrieks, stumbling backwards. False laughs, poking a claw through the archway to help Cleo catch her balance. 

“Sorry for scaring you, Pr- Cleo. Are you okay?”

Cleo laughs, running her fingers through her hair and smoothing down the t-shirt.

“Yes, thank you, False. I’m fine.”

“Did you like the clothes?”

False asks, almost excitedly.

“Yes! I did. They are... perfect.”

False grins, flashing her massive dragon teeth. 

“Although, I’m curious. Were they... yours? Y’know, before you got,” Cleo waves a hand in False’s general direction. “Dragon-ed.”

False nods.

“Yep. Sorry if they’re not to your style, or they don’t fit or anything...”

“No, no! They’re a perfect fit, actually. Thank you, again.”

False smiles.

“Cleo. I just wanted to say... thank you for your kindness. It’s been... it’s been tough, being kept here to guard various things for the king... I haven’t had an acquaintance to talk to for a long time.”

Cleo steps towards False’s massive head.

“False... I’m so sorry this has happened to you. I guess you’re just as much of a prisoner as I am.”

She reaches her hand out, placing it gently on False’s nose, who looks at her, slightly puzzled.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m not really sure. I read it in a book once, I guess?”

“Y’know you can actually hug me, if you want. I promise I won’t eat you.”

Before False can finish her sentence, Cleo has wrapped her arms as far as they can go around False’s snout, burying her face in the (admittedly) not-at-all-soft scaly skin of False’s cheek. It’s a lovely hug, all the same, and False’s contented sigh sends all of the pages of her books flapping crazily in the wind.

“We’re gonna escape. You and me. We’re gonna escape, and we’ll be free, from killer knights and stupid nobles and nasty suitors. We’ll be free from it all.”

Cleo says, her voice muffled.

“Princess Cleo, may I remind you that I’m a literal 100ft dragon. It would be almost impossible or me to hide from the kingdom for too long.”

Cleo sighs, still holding tight to False.

“I guess so. But... but we’ll find a way.”

She hears False huff good-naturedly but ignores her, changing the subject.

“So I finished that Lady Christie book, y’know, with Sir Poirot? And oh my god, False, let me tell you. I _did not_ see that coming.”

* * *

5.

On the fifth day, the dragon brings her the sky.

“Cleo. Cleo, wake up! There’s people coming!” 

“Huh?”

Cleo sits up in her bed, wiping sleep from her eyes and looking over at where False is hovering by her balcony. It’s dark, and the moon is shining brightly in False’s dark eyes.

“There’s knights coming over the hill. They’re going to try and rescue you. What do you want me to do?”

Cleo waves a hand, wrapping the cloak around her for more comfort.

“Can’t you just... scare them? Like you did with the others?”

False shakes her head. 

“I think they’ve caught on to the fact I don’t wanna kill them. They just laugh at me and shoot arrows.”

She punctuates this by dropping three arrows on the floor of the room. One of them is dripping with blood. Cleo climbs out of bed, pulling on her boots. 

“I don’t want them to die. But I’m not going back with them. No way.”

“What are you going to do, then, Cleo?”

“We’re gonna get out of here. It doesn’t have to be forever, before you protest. We can come back. But for now, let’s _go._ Let’s wait out those stupid nobles and get _out of this place.”_

False looks unsure, but nods. She lays her head down on the cold stone floor, looking up at Cleo expectantly.

Cleo’s eyes widen.

“No fucking way. Is that okay? Will you let me... ride on your back?”

“Yes. For now. I think it’s probably best if you ride at the top of my neck, so you can hold on to my horns.”

“That won’t hurt you, will it?”

False shakes her head, and Cleo steels herself, carefully pulling herself up onto False’s snout and crawling up to where she can rest comfortably on her neck, holding onto her horns.

“Now. Hold on, your majesty. This’ll be quite the ride.”

And False launches.

There’s a rush of air, and then a feeling like the ground is dropping out from under her and all she can see is the dark moonlit sky and a thousand stars and then...

And then they’re _flying_.

Cleo can’t help but let out a whoop as she clings to False’s horns. Her hair is flying out behind her, and she can hear the roar of the wings flapping powerfully behind her.

“Quite a rush, isn’t it?” False’s voice is only just loud enough to be heard. “I still remember my first time flying. I crashed into the side of a mountain, but it was totally worth it.”

Cleo can do nothing but laugh as they fly, her tower getting smaller in the distance. Ahead of them, there’s just forest and flowers and open sky as far as her eyes can see. After a couple of minutes, she realises her cheeks are wet with tears. Whether she’s crying with joy or just overwhelmed, she doesn’t know, but she rests her forehead against False’s head anyway. False lands eventually, in a field of tall grass and wildflowers. 

Cleo half jumps, half falls off her back and into the patch of grass and flowers, still dazed.

“Cleo? Are you okay?”

Cleo giggles, staring up at the night sky, as False curls up around her.

“Yeah. I’m okay.” She turns to face False, who’s eyes are closing sleepily. “I’m more than okay.”

* * *

+1

False wakes to the sound of humming. She cracks open her eyes slowly, blinking in the warm morning sunlight. 

Sitting nearby is Cleo, surrounded by a massive pile of flowers. She’s wearing a flower crown, and gathered up in her arms she’s holding a mass of wildflowers, all woven together neatly. She’s still working on it, deftly braiding the chain further, adding more and more blossoms and blooms. The chain must be as thick as Cleo’s forearm and maybe as tall as her.

False watches her for a few minutes, bright orange hair almost glowing in the sunlight.

“What are you making?”

False asks, voice still a little rusty from sleep. She stretches out her wings, yawning. Cleo doesn’t stop her work, plucking her more flowers from her pile.

“I’m making a flower crown.”

False snorts, settling back into a comfy position in the grass.

“Pretty big for a flower crown.”

Cleo turns to her, then, and she’s smiling lopsidedly.

“Yeah, well the girl I’m making it for has a pretty big head.”

False nearly chokes.

“You’re making- you’re making that for me?”

“Yeah, Dummy. You’re my-“ Cleo pauses, pushing the last flower into place. “You’re my friend, Falsey.”

False can’t speak. Her throat seems like it’s closed up, and her cheeks burn. Not that Cleo can see that. There are too many scales in the way. Cleo stands up, hefting the massive flower crown over her shoulder, and steps towards where False lays on the grass.

“... Can I...?”

She gestures towards False’s head. False nods, not daring to talk, not daring to move, not daring to believe this is real.

Cleo steps forward, scrambling up False’s neck and gently placing the flower crown around her two horns. Her touch is soft, but still sends shocks along False’s body, all the way from her horns to the tip of her tail. When she’s happy with how the crown is positioned, Cleo leaps from False’s back, landing on the ground with a thump. She makes her way to where False can see her, placing a hand on the end of her snout.

“Cleo...” 

False says, voice cracking. 

“False... what’s wrong?”

Cleo runs a hand along False’s scales, her touch soothing.

“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong at all. I... thank you. Truly, thank you. I haven’t had a friend... I haven’t been given kindness in so long.”

“You deserve kindness,” Cleo says it so quietly that False almost misses her whisper. “You deserve friends. You deserve to be loved.”

Cleo closes her eyes, leaning her forehead against False’s cheek. False closes her eyes too, not wanting to let go of the moment.

Then there’s a feeling like she’s flying, a dropping sensation in the pit of her stomach, the ground gone from under her feet. She cries out, feeling wind whipping around her, feeling Cleo call out for her, far in the distance. There’s a twisting sensation, a sort of squeezing pain. Then she’s falling, to the ground, to her knees, breath knocked out of her.

It feels like dying.

And then there’s a hand on her shoulder. A hand touching her’s.

“False? False, can you hear me?”

False’s eyes flicker open, and there’s Cleo, gripping her hand and staring at her.

“Cleo?”

“False... you’re-” Cleo's voice is breathless, like she’s in awe.

False reaches up to touch Cleo’s cheek. And there’s a hand. There’s a hand where her claw was. 

And an arm. She looks down at herself. Where she once stood as a massive black dragon, with sharp teeth and claws and spikes...

Now she stands, a human girl, dressed in tattered clothes and covered in the remains of a flower crown.She looks up at Cleo, who’s still staring at her in amazement.

“Sorry I destroyed your flower crown, Cleo.”

She can barely finish her sentence before Cleo launches herself into False’s arms, wrapping her own arms tightly around the other. False buries her face in her shoulder, gripping tightly. Tears are streaming down her face, she realises. Cleo’s crying, too. But she’s also laughing, as she steps back, taking both of False’s hands. 

“We’re gonna get out of this kingdom, False. You and me. We can be free.”

False squeezes Cleo’s hand, grinning in the sunlight.

“Let’s go.”


End file.
